4 Gmat CR

1 Ordinary mountain sickness, a common condition among mountain climbers, and one from which
most people can recover, is caused by the characteristic shortage of oxygen in the atmosphere at high altitudes. Cerebral edema, a rarer disruption of blood circulation in the brain that quickly becomes life-threatening if not correctly treated from its onset, can also be caused by a shortage of oxygen. Since the symptoms of cerebral edema resemble those of ordinary mountain sickness, cerebral edema is especially dangerous at high altitudes.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) The treatment for ordinary mountain sickness differs from the treatment for cerebral edema.
(B) Cerebral edema can cause those who suffer from it to slip into a coma within a few hours.
(C) Unlike cerebral edema, ordinary mountain sickness involves no disruption of blood circulation in the brain.
(D) Shortage of oxygen at extremely high altitude is likely to affect thinking processes and cause errors of judgment.
(E) Most people who suffer from ordinary mountain sickness recover without any special treatment.

2 In 1992, a major newspaper circulated throughout North American paid its reporters an average salary paid by its principle competitors to their reporters. An executive of the newspaper argued that this practice was justified, since any shortfall that might exist in the reporters’ salaries is fully compensated by the valuable training they receive through their assignments.

Which one of the following, if true about the newspaper in 1992, most seriously undermines the justification offered by the executive?

(A) Senior reporters at the newspaper earned as much as reporters of similar stature who worked for the newspaper’s principle competitors.
(B) Most of the newspaper’s reporters had worked there for more than ten years.
(C) The circulation of the newspaper had recently reached a plateau, after it
had increased steadily throughout the 1980s.
(D) The union that represented reporters at the newspaper was different from the union that represented reporters at the newspaper’s competitors.
(E) The newspaper was widely read throughout continental Europe and Great Britain as well as North America.

3 Jane: Television programs and movies that depict violence among teenagers are extremely popular. Given how influential these media are, we have good reason to believe that these depictions cause young people to engage in violent behavior. Hence, depictions of violence among teenagers should be prohibited from movies and television programs, if only in those programs and movies promoted to young audiences.

Maurice: But you are recommending nothing short of censorship! Besides which, your claim that television and movie depictions of violence cause violence is mistaken: violence among young people predates movies and television by centuries.

. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens Jane’s argument?

(A) The most violent characters depicted in movies and on television programs are adult characters who are portrayed by adult actors.
(B) The movies that have been shown to have the most influence on young people’s behavior are those that are promoted to young audiences.
(C) The people who make the most profits in the movie and television industry are those who can successfully promote their work to both young and old audiences.
(D) Many adolescents who engage in violent behavior had already displayed such behavior before they were exposed violence in movies.
(E) Among the producers who make both movies and television programs, many voluntarily restrict the subject matter of films directed toward young audiences.

4. A rise in the percentage of all 18-year-olds who were recruited by the armed services of a small republic between 1980 and 1986 correlates with a rise in the percentage of young people who dropped out of high school in that republic. Since 18-year-olds in the republic are generally either high school graduates or high school dropouts, the correlation leads to the conclusion that the republic’s recruitment rates for 18-year-olds depend substantially on recruitment rates for high school dropouts.

Which one of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument?

(A) A large number of 18-year-old high school graduates were recruited for the republic’s armed services in 1986 than in 1980.
(B) Many of the high-technology systems used by the republic’s armed services can be operated only by individuals who have completed a high school education.
(C) Between 1980 and 1986 the percentage of high school graduates among 18-year-olds recruited in the republic rose sharply.
(D) Personnel of the republic’s armed services are strongly encouraged to finish their high school education.
(E) The proportion of recruits who had completed at least two years of college education was greater in 1986 than in 1980.